Sorting and assembling system



NOV. 1952 G. A. MAGOON 3,064,822

SORTING AND ASSEMBLING SYSTEM Filed Oct. 5, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet l FIG. 1

Inventor:

George A. M Q

' I his Attorney Nov. 20, 1962 G. A. MAGOON 3,064,822

SORTING AND ASSEMBLING SYSTEM Filed Oct. 5, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Inventor:

George A. Magoon his Attorney Nov. 20, 1962 G. A. MAGOON 3,064,822

SORTING AND ASSEMBLING SYSTEM Filed Oct. 5, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Inventor:

George A. Magoon his Attorney United States Patent fifiee Patented Nov. 20, 1962 Filed on. 5, 1959, Ser. No. 844,377 Claims. ((1211-10) This invention relates to a system for sorting and assembling articles in sequence and has particular application to the sorting and assembly, prior to storage, of finished articles in dry cleaning and like establishments.

In dry cleaning establishments, it is the usual practice to tag garments or other articles, when received, in numerical sequence with the number on the marking tag corresponding to that on the customers claim check. Pinned or otherwise attached to the articles, the marking tags remain on them during subsequent handling and serve as their identification for return to the proper customer. The difiiculty with present systems is in the sorting and assembly of the articles after finishing so that each can readily be located when called for. The better of the present systems employ for storage a snake rail and for sorting and assembly a rail continuous with the snake rail "on which finished garments, delivered in batches, are assembled 'in sequence and thereafter slid onto the snake rail. However, assembly in such systems usually involves a pushing and pulling of the articles on the assembly rack as others are added, with consequent likelihood of error in the sequence ultimately achieved. It is to the solution of this problem and the elimination of errors in the sequence in which the articles are stored that the present invention is directed.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide an improved system whereby articles can readily be sorted and assembled in correct sequence.

Another object of the invention is to provide a sorting and assembly system whereby articles can be sorted and assembled in correct sequence in any space which is divisible during assembly into any given number of articlereceiving spaces.

An additional object of the invention is to provide an improved sorting and assembly system whereby articles in any batch can be assembled in sequence with each other and with articles in storage, whether the number of articles in a given bath is equal to or less than the capacity of the assembly means.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved sorting and assembly system wherein articles are assembled, each in one of a plurality of separated spaces along an assembly rail, the spaces being numberable consecutively and in any desired sequence, thereby enabling the articles to be assembled in sequence with each other and with previously assembled articles in storage.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved sorting and assembly system where-by spaces into which an assembly rail is divided during assembly may be numbered consecutively and in a desired sequence by a tape shiftable in either direction longitudinally of the assembly rail and carrying consecutive numbers spaced in correspondence with the spaces on the rail.

An additional object of the invention is to provide an improved sorting and assembly system whereby by forming assembly and storage rails as a continuous slick rail and separating the assembly rail during assembly into a plurality of consecutively numbered spaces by means shiftable into and out of separating position, articles may readily be assembled in sequence and, after assembly, slid directly along the slick rail to storage.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear hereinafter in the detailed description, be particularly pointed out in the appended claims and be illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a schematic view of assembly and storage facilities of a dry cleaning establishment, incorporating a preferred form of the sorting and assembly system of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the preferred form of the system of the present invention;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary plan view of the system of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary end elevational view of the system of FIGURE 2; and

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view on an enlarged scale taken along the lines 55 of FIGURE 2.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, in which like reference characters design-ate like parts, the sorting and assembly system of the present invention, while, as stated at the outset, intended primarily for the sorting and assembly of garments or other articles or so-called orders in a dry cleaning establishment, is adapted generally for sorting and assembling individual articles identified by individual numbers attached or applied thereto. In its broadest aspect, the system of this invention provides an assembly means which is separated, divided or partitioned into a plurality of separate, discrete or individual spaces, slots or compartments, each for receiving an article, and a movable, shiftable or changeable designating means by which the spaces can be designated by consecutive numers and the designation can be changed at will to encompass any series of consecutive symbols within the capacity of the assembly means.

In the illustrated embodiment, particularly designed for use in a dry cleaning establishment, the sorting and assembly system, designated generally as 1, is comprised as its assembly means of an assembly rail, rod or rack 2, separated, divided or partitioned longitudinally during assembly into a plurality of separate, individual or discrete, tandem-arranged spaces 3 by a plurality of spacers 4. The preferred means by which the spaces 3 are designated is a tape or belt 5 paralleling and shiftable longitudinally of the assembly rail 2 and bearing or having applied thereto a series of consecutive numbers, of the range required for the capacity of the assembly rail and the number of places of digits of the numbers of the articles used for sorting and assembly.

Horizontally disposed, the assembly rail 2 may be mounted at a height of which articles suspended by hangers or the like thereon will clear the floor, on a stand 6 formed of a plurality of transversely spaced, parallel stanchions or uprights 7, conveniently extending from floor to ceiling and having fixed or attached thereto in- I termediate their extremities cross-arms or bearers 8 extending substantially normal to the uprights and the assembly rail and directly supporting the latter at one side of the uprights. The spacers 4 by which the assembly rail 2 is divided during assembly into the plurality of spaces 3, here are in the form of a plurality of preferably equally spaced, hook-ended fingers disposed normal to the assembly rail and carried by and fixed to a shaft or bar 9 paralleling the assembly rail and conveniently mounted thereabove on suitable brackets 10 fixed to the stand 6. It is preferred that the shaft 9 not be fixed to the mounting brackets 10 but be journalled therein for pivoting or swinging about an axis parallel to the assembly rail so as to enable the spacers or fingers 4, which in normal, or assembly position have their hooked ends 11 engaging and partly wrapping the assembly rail, to be swung by rotation of the shaft clear of the rail to inoperative position and so release the articles for sliding along the rail after assembly. The desired operation of the shaft to engage and disengage the fingers 4 may be efiected by a motor drive or manually, the latter ordinarily sufiicing and here being accomplishable by a lever 12 fixed or keyed to one end of the shaft and lockable in positions correace-gene sponding to the rail-engaging or closed and clear or open positions of the fingers 4 by a double-ended catch 13 provided for the purpose on the stand 6.

The consecutive number-bearing tape may be either endless with suitable takeup means to maintain it taut or, as in the illustrated embodiment, spooled or reeled beyond'the fingers 4- on a pair of takeup reels or spools 14 mounted at opposite ends of the stand 6. In either case, the tape 5, over the portion of the assembly rail 2 contained or covered by'the fingers 4, should run parallel to the assembly rail and in such proximity to the spaces 3 as clearly to indicate to the person doing the 'sorting and assembling, the number or other symbol designating each space. This is readily accomplished by so mounting the reels 14 that the tape is above and not obscured by the operating shaft 9 and further facilitated by guiding the tape between the reels in a guide channel 15 fixed to the stand 6 and leading the tape from the ends of the channel over idle or guide rollers 16 onto the reels.

In the preferred installation, the reels 14'are individually driven in alternation, each by its own electric drive motor 17 through suitable reduction gearing 18. In addition, the belt or other driving connection 19 between the motor takeofi 20 and the reel is such that each reel will be driven and in turn drive the tape 5 in one direction and, on drive of the tape in the other direction by the other or opposite reel and its motor, will impose a drag on the unreeling end of the tape and so maintain the latter taut.

In the typical installation of the sorting and assembly system in a cleaning establishment shown in FIGURE 1, a batch of finished articles is placed for sorting and assembly on the hold rail 21 by the route man. From the hold rail, the articles are transferred to the assembly rail 2 and in process sorted and assembled by placing each in the space corresponding in its number with the last two digits on the articles marking tag. In closed position during such sorting and assembly, the fingers 4 thereafter are swung to open position by manipulation of the lever 12. With the fingers so swingable and the assembly rail 2 and a snake rail 22 conventionally used in such establishments for storing articles, formed as a continuous slick rail, the assembled articles, when released from the fingers 4, may be slid directly from the assembly rail to storage on the storage rail 22. So long as the articles in each successive batch are assembled in sequence, this arrangement ensures that all of the articles in storage will be in sequence, making it a simple matter to locate the article called for by the claim check of any given customer.

Were the article-receiving spaces 3 permanently numbered, the total number of spaces and, correspondingly, the length of the assembly rail 2 required for sorting and assembly would depend upon the number of places of digits from the numbers on the marking tags used for the purpose, ten if only the units digits were used, one hundred for the tens and units digits, etc. Moreover, unless the number of articles in each batch exactly equalled the number of spaces on the assembly rail, only those of the permanently numbered spaces left over from a preceding batch would be available initially for sorting and assembly, necessitating assembly of at least some of the batches in stages, even though the number of articles in such a batch did not exceed the capacity of the assembly rail.

Dependency of the number of the spaces 3 and length of the assembly rail 2 upon the number of the places of digits on the numbers on the marking tages used as the key for sorting and assembly 'is eliminated by the system of this invention and the installation, instead, can be tailored to the area available for sorting and assembly in a particular establishment. The responsibility for this resides in the changeability or movability of the numbers by which the several spaces are designated, such that the spaces can .benumbered consecutively in any sequence of consecutive one, two or more digit numbers. For any given number of spaces 3 and the related number of key digits, the number of numbers in the series of consecutive numbers required for designating the spaces will equal n+s1, where n is the lowest power of ten including the key digits and s is the number of the article-receiving spaces. Thus, for a two digit system applied to a 65-space assembly rail, such as that illustrated in FIGURE 2, the series of consecutive numbers required 7 A for designating the spaces would range from 01 through 00 to 64 or 00 through 00 to 63.

As indicated, the series of consecutive numbers for numbering the spaces on the assembly rail is made up of two consecutively arranged sub-series, the first containing all of the key numbers in the digit places of the numbers on the tags used for sorting and assembly and the second at least a partial repetition of the first and having at minimumone less number than the number of the spaces. Accordingly, for the exemplary two-digit system applied to the 65rspace rail, the first sub-series would be 01 to 00 or 00 to 99 and the second 01 to 64 or 00 to 63 and the parts of the whole series selectively applied to the spaces would each contain 65 numbers. With such numbering available, it is simply a matter of selection to change the sequence between batches, so that the space of one, here the left or outlet, end of the assembly rail is designated by the number consecutive to or following that of-the highest numbered space occupied by the preceding batch, for the full capacity of the assembly rail to be available for each batch and the articles in each batch to be sorted and assembled in sequence with each other and with articles of batches previously sent to storage.

Although the renumbering of the several spaces 3 between batches conceivably might be done by hand, this would be impractical and time-consuming. .By contrast, the preferred numbered tape 5 provides a simple and practical means by which the sequence of numbers applied to the spaces 3 can be changed .at will by turning a crank or, in the-illustrated form, merely by pressing one of the two switch buttons 23 on the control box 24 each controlling the operation of one of the motors 17. Shiftable in either direction longitudinally of the assembly rail 2 by driving one or the other of its reels 14, the tape 5, for the illustrated 65 space rail and two digit system, bears or has applied thereto 164 consecutive numbers ranging from 00 or 01 through 00 to a second 63 or 64 and spaced equally in correspondence with the spacing of'the spaces 3 on the rail. vSo numbered, it is simply a matter of shifting the tape 5 in one direction or the other between batches to apply to the spaces 3 along the assembly 'rail2 the particular sequence of numbers consecutive to or following that of the preceding batch,

From the above detailed description, it will be apparent that there has been provided an improved sorting and assembly system which is not fixedin its demands for space but is employable in any area divisible during sorting and assembly into a plurality of spaces and, when em.- ployed, is effective to sort and assemble articles in correct sequence with each other and with articles previously sent to storage. It should be understood that thedescribed and disclosed embodiment is merely exemplary of the invention and that all modifications are intended to be included which donot depart from either the v spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

Having described my invention, I claim: 7 V

1. A system for sorting and assembling numberedarti: cles using as key numbers the numbers in certain of the digit places of the numbers on the articles, comprising assembly means, means for dividing the said assembly means duringassembly into a plurality of spaces, a single series of consecutive numbers for numbering said spaces, said series including a first sub-series containing all of the key nurnbers and a second sub-series at. least partially repetitive of the first and at minimum having one less number than the number of said spaces, and means for selectively applying to said spaces parts of said series each equal in the number of its numbers to the number of said spaces.

2. A system for sorting and assembling numbered articles using as key numbers the numbers in certain of the digit places of the numbers on the articles, comprising an assembly rail, means for dividing said rail during assembly into a plurality of spaces, a single series of consecutive numbers for numbering said spaces, said series including a first sub-series containing all of the key numbers and a second sub-series at least partially repetitive of the first and at minimum having one less number than the number of said spaces, and means for selectively applying to said spaces parts of said series each equal in the number of its numbers to the number of said spaces.

3. A system for sorting and assembling numbered articles using as key numbers the numbers in certain of the digit places of the numbers on the articles, comprising an assembly rail, a storage rail continuous With said assembly rail for receiving sorted and assembled articles therefrom, means for dividing said assembly rail during assembly into a plurality of spaces, a single series of consecutive numbers for numbering said spaces, said series including a first sub-series containing all of the key numbers and a second sub-series at least partially repetitive of the first and at minimum having one less number than the number of said spaces, and means for selectively applying to said spaces parts of said series each equal in the number of its numbers to the number of said spaces.

4. A system for sorting and assembling numbered articles using as key numbers the numbers in certain of the digit places of the numbers on the articles, comprising an assembly rail, a storage rail continuous with said assembly rail, movable means operable in unison during assembly for dividing said assembly rail into a plurality of spaces and thereafter freeing assembled articles for sliding along said assembly rail to said storage rail, a single series of consecutive numbers for numbering said spaces, said series including a first sub-series containing all of the key numbers and a second sub-series at least partially repetitive of the first and at minimum having one less number than the number of said spaces, and means for selectively applying to said spaces parts of said series each equal in the number of its numbers to the number of said spaces.

5. A system for sorting and assembling numbered articles using as key numbers the numbers in certain of the digit places of the numbers on the articles, comprising an assembly rail, a storage rail continuous with said assembly rail for receiving sorted and assembled articles therefrom, means for dividing said assembly rail during assembly into a plurality of spaces, tape means bearing a single series of consecutive numbers for numbering said spaces, said series including a first sub-series containing all of the key numbers and a second sub-series at least partially repetitive of the first and at minimum having one less number than the number of said spaces, said tape means being shiftable relative to said assembly rail for selectively applying to said spaces parts of said series each equal in the number of its numbers to the number of said spaces.

6. A system for sorting and assembling numbered articles comprising an assembly rail, a storage rail continuous with said assembly rail, means for dividing said assembly rail during assembly into equally spaced spaces and thereafter freeing said assembly rail for movement of articles therefrom onto said storage rail, a tape bearing a single series of consecutive numbers spaced in correspondence with said spaces and including for the number of said spaces all possible series of the digits in the number of places used from the numbers on the articles for sorting and assembly, and reel means for shitfing said tape longitudinally of said rail and selectively applying to said spaces any of said possible series.

7. A system for sorting and assembling numbered articles comprising an assembly rail, a storage rail continuous with said assembly rail, means operable as a unit for dividing said assembly rail during assembly into equally spaced spaces and thereafter freeing said assembly rail for movement of articles therefrom onto said storage rail, a tape bearing a single series of consecutive numbers spaced in correspondence with said spaces and including for the number of said spaces all possible series of digits in the number of places used from the numbers on the articles for sorting and assembly, a pair of spaced reels for reeling said tape at opposite ends of said spaces, and means for driving said reels and thereby selectively applying to said spaces any of said possible series.

8. A system for sorting and assembling numbered articles comprising an assembly rail, a plurality of spacer means shiftable as a unit transversely of said rail for dividing said rail during assembly into a plurality of equally spaced spaces, a tape bearing a single series of consecutive numbers spaced in correspondence with said spaces and including for the number of said spaces all possible series of digits in the number of places used from the numbers on the articles for sorting and assembly, a pair of spaced reels for reeling said tape at opposite ends of said spaces, and means for driving said reels and thereby selectively applying to said spaces any of said possible series.

9. A system for sorting and assembling numbered articles comprising an assembly rail having spaced ends, spacer means swingable in unison transversely of said rail between assembly and inoperative positions for dividing said rail during assembly into a plurality of equally spaced spacers and thereafter freeing assembled articles for sliding off an end of said rail, means for locking said spacer means in either of said positions, a tape bearing a single series of consecutive numbers spaced in correspondence with said spaces and including for the number of said spaces all possible series of the digits in the number of places used from the numbers on the articles for sorting and assembly, a pair of spaced reels for reeling said tape at opposite ends of said spaces, and means for driving said reels and thereby selectively applying to said spaces any of said possible series.

10. A system for sorting and assembling numbered articles comprising a stand, a horizontally disposed assembly rail mounted on said stand, a bar pivotally mounted on said stand above and parallel to said rail, a plurality of fingers projecting substantially radially from said bar and swingable thereby into and out of engagement with said rail for dividing said rail during assembly into a plurality of substantially equally spaced spaces and thereafter freeing assembled articles for sliding off said rail, a lever for actuating said bar, means engageable with said lever for locking said fingers in rail-engaging and disengaging positions, a tape disposed above and longitudinally of said rail and bar, a pair of spaced reels mounted on said stand above said bar and outwardly of said fingers and carrying opposite ends of said tape, means for driving either of said reels against resistance by the other reel for shifting said tape in either direction longitudinally of said rail While maintaining said tape taut, and a series of consecutive numbers on said tape spaced in correspondence with said spaces, said series including all possible sequences for the number of said spaces of the digits in the number of places used from the numbers on said articles for sorting and assembly.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 970,103 Parrott Sept. 13, 1910 1,398,778 Hawkins Nov. 29, 1921 1,422,800 Van Cott July 11, 1922 1,643,841 Fuller Sept. 27, 1927 2,251,408 Johnson Aug. 5, 1941 2,595,837 Freeman May 6, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 275,512 Germany June 19, 1914 

